Evidently there are other episodes in this series but they aren't listed on IMDb.com. I'll base my few comments on the episode concerning Rommel.
There are several documentaries and at least one feature film about Rommel, Germany's "Desert Fox" in North Africa, but I don't know of any others that include film clips of Rommel standing at parade rest and addressing the camera. His voice is unexceptional but he delivers his speech in short, clipped, military fragments, rather like the stereotypical Prussian of the war years. He sounds nothing like James Mason.
There are half a dozen or so talking heads and it's notable that the grudging admiration for Rommel was apparently felt within the Allied lines; it wasn't just a rumor. As one of the British participants said, "He brought honor to Germany at a time when so many were bringing shame."
I believe the general story of the Afrika Korps is already known, at least in rough outline. Rommel brought them to Africa to aid Germany's faltering ally, Italy. Then, instead of aiding them, he more or less ignored them and drove the British back to the Egyptian border. By that time his supply lines were stretched thin -- more than a thousand miles from his base at Tripoli -- and Montgomery was now in charge of the British 8th Army. What followed was a see-saw battle, with each side advancing, then drawing back as its supplies dwindled. He was a daredevil, the kind of soldier Hitler liked, and he was promoted from General to Field Marshal.
Rommel was finally defeated at the second battle of el Alamein, where he was outnumbered and out-armored, his 35 tanks to more than a hundred Allied tanks. He subsequently retreated to Tripoli and, against Hiter's orders, withdrew as many of his troops as he could, but not before inflicting a stinging defeat on the green and poorly led Americans at Kasserine Pass.
The narration makes some observations about things I already knew but could never put a name to. The German newsreel broadcasts sound like they're made by a sports announcer -- "Here come our bombers! Look at that gigantic cloud!" Amusing. The Brits are far more restrained but then they didn't have Goebbels kicking them in the pants.
After Africa, Rommel was assigned the defense of the French coast. Given the numbers on each side, the task of repelling the Allied invasion was nearly impossible. After the landings, Rommel was caught up in the assassination attempt on Hitler. He didn't condone it but he knew of it. That was enough.
Taking into account its running time, it's a remarkably thorough story with uncommon insight into Rommel's character.
There are several documentaries and at least one feature film about Rommel, Germany's "Desert Fox" in North Africa, but I don't know of any others that include film clips of Rommel standing at parade rest and addressing the camera. His voice is unexceptional but he delivers his speech in short, clipped, military fragments, rather like the stereotypical Prussian of the war years. He sounds nothing like James Mason.
There are half a dozen or so talking heads and it's notable that the grudging admiration for Rommel was apparently felt within the Allied lines; it wasn't just a rumor. As one of the British participants said, "He brought honor to Germany at a time when so many were bringing shame."
I believe the general story of the Afrika Korps is already known, at least in rough outline. Rommel brought them to Africa to aid Germany's faltering ally, Italy. Then, instead of aiding them, he more or less ignored them and drove the British back to the Egyptian border. By that time his supply lines were stretched thin -- more than a thousand miles from his base at Tripoli -- and Montgomery was now in charge of the British 8th Army. What followed was a see-saw battle, with each side advancing, then drawing back as its supplies dwindled. He was a daredevil, the kind of soldier Hitler liked, and he was promoted from General to Field Marshal.
Rommel was finally defeated at the second battle of el Alamein, where he was outnumbered and out-armored, his 35 tanks to more than a hundred Allied tanks. He subsequently retreated to Tripoli and, against Hiter's orders, withdrew as many of his troops as he could, but not before inflicting a stinging defeat on the green and poorly led Americans at Kasserine Pass.
The narration makes some observations about things I already knew but could never put a name to. The German newsreel broadcasts sound like they're made by a sports announcer -- "Here come our bombers! Look at that gigantic cloud!" Amusing. The Brits are far more restrained but then they didn't have Goebbels kicking them in the pants.
After Africa, Rommel was assigned the defense of the French coast. Given the numbers on each side, the task of repelling the Allied invasion was nearly impossible. After the landings, Rommel was caught up in the assassination attempt on Hitler. He didn't condone it but he knew of it. That was enough.
Taking into account its running time, it's a remarkably thorough story with uncommon insight into Rommel's character.
